American Hockey League

HOCKEY AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE AHL: Suspended St. John's LW Andre Payette for six games and RW Craig Mills three games, Philadelphia F Greg Koehler three games and D Francis Lessard one game for their actions in a game March 9.

The Sports Xchange NHL roundup: Hurricanes bring back Gleason Unrestricted free agent defenseman Tim Gleason agreed to terms with the Carolina Hurricanes on a one-year, $1.2 million contract, the team announced Thursday. Gleason spent part of eight seasons with the Hurricanes before being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 1 for defenseman John-Michael Liles. The Maple Leafs bought out the final two years of Gleason's contract earlier this week. Gleason had one goal...

SportsDirect Inc. Preview: Flames at Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes hope to have their captain back in the lineup when they begin a three-game homestand against the Calgary Flames on Monday. Eric Staal participated in practice Sunday for the first time since leaving a victory over the New York Islanders on Jan. 4 with a lower-body injury. The Hurricanes fell to 2-1-0 without Staal with a 3-0 road loss to Columbus on Friday. Calgary is mired in an offensive slump of epic proportions,...

The American Hockey League has benefited greatly from the NHL lockout. Attendance at Philadelphia Phantoms games is up 44 percent compared to the same first four weeks last season, averaging 6,711 fans a game. Wolves games are up 12 percent from last year at 7,539 a game.

SportsDirect Inc. Preview: Canadiens at Islanders The Montreal Canadiens were among the hottest teams in hockey, winning five straight and putting together a 10-game point streak before they were blanked by Los Angeles on Wednesday. Montreal, which narrowly avoided a second shutout in as many nights at Philadelphia, looks to get back on track when it visits the reeling New York Islanders on Saturday. "It will take a lot of intensity on offense to get ourselves out of this hole," Canadiens...

The Sports Xchange Lightning assigns Panik to AHL team The Tampa Bay Lightning have reassigned forward Richard Panik to the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League, the team announced Friday. Panik, 22, has played in nine games for the Lightning this season, and he scored one goal. -----------------------------------------------

Forward Joakim Nordstrom, called up Wednesday by the Chicago Blackhawks, is headed back to Rockford. Nordstrom was reassigned to the American Hockey League's IceHogs on Saturday to make room for Andrew Shaw, who is expected to return to action Sunday against the Florida Panthers after missing two games with an upper-body injury. Nordstrom, 21, has a goal and an assist in 10 games with the Blackhawks this season.

FOOTBALL ARENA FOOTBALL LEAGUE Los Angeles: Signed OL-DL Ryan Nielsen and QB Juston Wood to the practice squad. Waived DS Kyle Grove, OS Ryan Hoag and FB-LB Lenny Lucas. Named Matt Wikstrom director of ticket sales. Hockey AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE AHL: Suspended Hamilton F Sylvain Blouin for eight games for an incident in a game on Feb. 11.

The Sports Xchange Canucks sign G Lack to two-year extension The Vancouver Canucks re-signed goalie Eddie Lack to a two-year, $2.3 million contract extension, TSN reported Friday. According to the report, Lack, 25, will make $1 million in 2014-15 and $1.3 million in 2015-16. He could have become a restricted free agent in July. In five games this season as the team's No. 2 goalie, Lack is 2-2-0 with a 2.41 goals-against average and .911 save percentage. He spent...

The Sports Xchange Blackhawks assign Nordstrom to Rockford The Chicago Blackhawks announced Sunday that forward Joakim Nordstrom was assigned to the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League. Nordstrom, 21, scored one goal in eight games this season with the Blackhawks against the New York Islanders on Oct. 11. -----------------------------------------------

The Chicago Blackhawks summoned forwards Jeremy Morin and Brad Mills from Rockford of the American Hockey League on Friday. Morin led the IceHogs with eight points (four goals, four assists) in eight games. Mills had four points (two goals, two assists). He has played in 31 NHL games, all with New Jersey. He agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the Hawks. The Hawks also placed defenseman Michael Kostka on Injured Reserve.

The Sports Xchange Blackhawks recall G Raanta The Chicago Blackhawks announced Saturday that they recalled goaltender Antti Raanta from the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League. Raanta, 24, played one preseason game with the Blackhawks, getting a 5-4 shootout win over the Washington Capitals on Sept. 20. He made 26 saves and stopped all three shootout attempts in the victory. The Rauma, Finland, native went 21-10-11 with five shutouts, a 1.85 goals-against average and a .943...

July 17 (The Sports Xchange) - The Nashville Predators signed forward Rich Clune to a two-year, $1.7 million contract starting after the 2013-14 season, the team announced Wednesday. According to the terms of the deal, Clune will make $850,000 in both the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. He was a pending restricted free agent. Clune, 26, had four goals and five assists in 47 games and was fourth in the NHL in penalty minutes with 113 and led the team with 159 hits last season. He was claimed...